Lonzo on LaVar's comments, Steve Nash workout, adjusting to NBA

To outsiders, LaVar Ball, with all his bombast and bluster, might look like a weight that could drag down his three sons, both on and off the court.

However, Lonzo Ball made it clear that his father’s head-turning public statements won’t disrupt his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“They already know how he is,” Lonzo told Pro Basketball Talk’s Kurt Helin. “It’s never been a problem and I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

In the court of public opinion, it could be even less of a problem going forward now that the world can catch a glimpse of the “real” LaVar on Facebook Watch’s “Ball in the Family.”

“He’s getting a lot more people seeing the person that he really is,” Lonzo said. “I’m happy for him and I’m glad people get to see the person I’ve seen my whole life.”

The 19-year-old touched on a number of other topics during his appearance on the Pro Basketball Talk on NBC Sports podcast. Here are some of the highlights.

On Tina’s health

She’s getting better every day. Obviously my dad’s still working with her everyday and just trying to help her get back to doing what she can. We’re all behind her. She’s done so much for us. Now it’s our turn to do something for her.

On working out with Steve Nash

He was the MVP, one of the best point guards who’s played. So anything that he taught me is definitely useful. Just that one day alone, I learned a lot, from screens to guarding, a lot of things that he helped me with. And I appreciate him for taking time out of his day to do that because I know he didn’t have to… Any time you go up [a level], you have to tune up your game. Steve Nash is one of the best guys to learn from.

Related

On adjusting to the pros

I haven’t really taken care of my body like that before because I haven’t really had to. Hearing it from [Nash], it definitely makes a lot of sense. I’m looking forward to adding [training and nutrition] to my daily routine… I think it definitely helps just because it gives you organization. You just have something that you always do, so you get used to it and it becomes second nature to you.

On the Lakers’ improvement at NBA Summer League

That was our first time playing together. Obviously, we’re all human. We’re not going to know each other just through the first time, so I mean, once we got to figure out each other’s games a little bit more, the games got easier and they started becoming more fun. We just got out and ran. You see Kuz [Kyle Kuzma] catching touchdown passes and dunking and stuff. I’m just happy that we all came together as one and got it done.

On Brandon Ingram

Brandon’s in the gym every day. He works extremely hard. I didn’t know he was as vocal as he is, but he definitely talks a lot. Speaking for myself, I definitely appreciate it being that he does stuff for his team…

On conditioning

I think conditioning is a huge part. If you’re conditioned, that gives you a lot of options because when everyone else is getting tired, you’re still going. It gives you an advantage. If the whole team’s conditioned, you can definitely do a lot more stuff in transition, which is always nice.

On the transition game

I’ve played in transition my whole life. I can bring that dynamic to this team… One of the first things [my dad] taught me was the ball always travels faster than the person. So, I mean, I don’t find it necessary to dribble up the court if you can just hit ahead for an easier bucket, especially in less time. It just makes more sense to me, just get it up.

On the Ball brothers’ different playing styles

We used to play on the same team [in AAU and at Chino Hills High], so we can’t all play point guard. I always played the point guard. Gelo, my middle brother, always ran the wing. He was probably the best shooter out of us three. He’s probably the scorer, pure scorer. My youngest brother, LaMelo, he ran a little bit of both, but he can play point guard and he can also play the wing. We’re all different, but we all work together pretty well on the same team.

On what the Lakers want him to work on

Definitely strength because you’re playing against men every night. But I’d say the biggest thing on the court is probably ball screens. Just playing point guard, ball screens is a big part of the game, especially in today’s game. Defintely put a lot of emphasis on that.

On which shoes he’ll be wearing on opening night against the Clippers

That’s a great question. I don’t know. But as of right now, I’ll probably come out in my shoes [the Big Baller Brand’s ZO2s].

Like this article?

Sign up for the Lonzo Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning

Success

Thanks for signing up.
You'll be waking up a little more awesome tomorrow.